She Listened
by CelestiaKnight
Summary: The Winter Festival. A festival of love and understanding. During this time of year, everyone had a friend to share this love with. Except me. I remember how I met my first friend. A friend I did not expect, but one I needed.


**Author's note : Hey there! I thought that since the next chapter for A New Age might be a little late than Christmas, I could write a little something to celebrate. So, it's not about Christmas, but it's mostly about what I feel should be adressed during this time of year. Not the gifts, not money spending, but family, love and understanding. You'll see what I mean. This short story is related to A New Age, but you don't need to read it to understand this short. It speaks for itself. Just keep in mind that the one I call Isabelle is known cannonically as the Fairy Queen. That ain't a name, is it? So yeah, I gave her a name. Also keep in mind that I often mix the games with the anime, so this world is a mix of both. On that, I hope you like this short story, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/Happy Whatever-You-Celebrate! Have a good read!**

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A long time ago, the royal capital of Ripple Star held an annual festival during the winter. They celebrated the unity of their people, of their families, of their bounds. They celebrated what they had accomplished as a community, what good they were able to spread, what love they, as one of the most influencial creatures of the system, were able to give. As a child, I thoroughly enjoyed this festival. For two whole weeks, the castle town was decorated with lights and garlands, and each house and every bit of public space would remind you proudly that it was this time of the year. What I loved the most about the decorating was the way the people used the local crystals to create statues. These would represent animals, folklore deities and spirits, and many other things. However, as enjoyable and wonderful as this festival was, there was one thing I did not like.

I had no one to share it with. While this festival was all about love, understanding and unity, I was always left alone. Even as I walked the streets, in awe over the decorations and general mood of town, I was ignored. I did not exist in their eyes. And so I had no friends. I did not go to school with the other kids; I was taught at home by a personal teacher, one that understood who and what I was. The others didn't care. My family and I were nothing more than magnets to darkness in their eyes. It was only later in my life that I understood why my parents had insisted that we remain there, that I understood all that was at play… but this is for another story. I was alone for the festival this year once more, but, strangely, I did not care. Or at least, I told myself that I didn't care. Walking down the street, I would see other kids, running around laughing. I'd stand on the side and watch them pass by. Sometimes they'd send me looks, sometimes they'd ignore me. At the end of the day, everything was the same. For many years, I celebrated alone, content with myself and the progress I was making as a growing Star Warrior.

But… One year, I had enough. Enough of this overwhelming loneliness. This year had been terrible, and to this day I forgot all about this time of my life. Except for the festival. This was one thing I hoped I would never forget, one thing I held on to for the future. The loneliness I felt, the built-up anger, all that I had pushed back into the back of my mind for all those years… I wasn't a sponge, so to say, and I couldn't keep it any longer. It influenced my learning, it acted on my mental state, on how I acted around everyone, my parents, my teachers, the servants… I had been rather despicable, quiet, angry. I was afraid, too. Every day, I would hear at least one person call me either a freak or, as they called us, a 'Darkness Bringer'. I grew up not caring, but the more it went… the worse it got.

That day, I was walking through town to go and get some food at the store, when I heard an all too familiar call.

"Hey, freak!"

I remember it physically hurting my heart. I remember the feeling, the pinch, the burning. I remember, I was shaking when I turned to look. Normally I would continue my way, but I don't know what compelled me to confront them. It was a group of kids, the same ones that often insulted and threw things at me. When I looked at them, I saw those young fairies laugh among themselves, laugh about how I 'recognized myself', and I felt my wings twitch. Now that I think back, it was a good thing that I wasn't allowed to carry my sword with me wherever I went, for I truly believe I would have surrendered to the Darkness right then and there. They walked toward me, and I could only stand there and watch as they surrounded me. The toughest of the five of them, a boy by the name of Skyen, loomed over me with his arms crossed, wings buzzing silently. I just looked at him, trying to even my breath. He snorted.

"What are you lookin' at, freak?"

Rarely did I confront my enemies like this, so I was caught silent, thinking about something, anything, to respond, but I remained mute. I tried to stutter something, but another kid said to another, loud enough so I could clearly hear him:

"Look at that weirdo, he looks so stupid with that dumb face…"

"Yeah, totally. What a looser."

I swallowed, shaking my head and looking down at my feet, like I always did.

"N-no, I'm not…"

"What was that?" Skyen leaned forward a bit, as if he hadn't heard but clearly mocking me. "You're not what? A stupid weirdo? You wanna say that again, just to be sure?"

"He's probably baiting Nightmare here right now, that ridiculous Darkness Bringer," another kid said, the others agreeing with him and throwing their own touch to the insult.

However… it was what Skyen spit out at that moment that broke something in me. A tiny little something, like a twig.

"Disgusting."

The tiny twig snapped. I felt something terrible as they laughed, as they pushed me, as they tugged on my satchel, my wings. That something, that burning rage, engulfed me, and I started shaking. I was vaguely aware of what I was doing, and even today, I don't remember how I gathered the courage to do it. I looked up at Skyen, that little bastard, and a rush of adrenaline snapped my wings open, pushing two guys away from me. I remember leaping at his face, I remember I was screaming, and I remember he was thrashing around, trying to pry me off. Somehow I found myself on his back and, as I continuously beat my wings, bringing us both higher above the street, I started strangling him with my arms. If the people in the street hadn't called for help, if the guards hadn't separated us, I would have killed him. I remember… at this moment, I considered him a demon-beast. I was a Star Warrior. My job was to destroy evil. And that he was, at least to me. I realized later it was foolish.

I found myself pinned to the ground under a heavy shield and my breath was taken away by the shock, and I found myself staring up at a royal guard. Another was near Skyen and the panicked kids, who were yelling that I had tried to kill him. Skyen himself couldn't speak, and whatever he would have said I wouldn't have heard. I was terribly confused as I lay there, trying to listen to the guard, who was ordering me to not move. The shield was taken off of me once I stopped moving. I sat up, confused.

"Everyone calm down," the guard called around us, probably to both the kids and the passersby. "Everything's under control."

"Under control?!" Skyen finally spoke. "That psycho tried to kill me!"

I didn't hear the rest. My young, child heart was bleeding its innocence and I felt it leaking through my eyes in a confused downpour. I hiccuped, but did not sob, and I heard the second guard say:

"Bring him to the castle. Let the Queen know about this."

The guard that pinned me down then grabbed me in his hands and flew off, but still I remained unresponsive.

I vaguely remember a meeting with the Queen, with me standing beside the guard, trembling, but I remember close to nothing of this. Except for a small detail. Among the high-ranking members of the royal court, who always assisted the Queen in her daily duties, I remember seeing her… the princess. She was holding her younger sister's hand. I had only spoken to her a few times, whenever I had to, but every time… I remember feeling something different. She wasn't insulting or ignoring me. And as I stood there, in the aftermath of my anger, I felt her gaze on me, but… I didn't return the eye-contact. I simply couldn't.

I later found myself alone again, in a room I had rarely passed through. The Night Room. This room had always had something special. It was filled with the healing magic of the fairies, fed by the purifying properties of the Crystal, and was a sanctuary for all who sought peace. The Queen of that time was considered harsh in her decisions, and it was only thanks to my teacher that I escaped banishment. Instead, I was forced to spend a week here, in this place, alone. It wasn't more of a sentence as it was a therapy. The Night Room's magic seeped through the mind, allowing one to sort their feelings, to regain control of themselves, to be one with themselves and aware of who and what they were.

As its name implies, the Night Room was continuously draped in the light of night, in the light of a strange inside sky, filled with stars, distant galaxies and nebulas, as well as one, glowing moon that followed its cycle naturally, day after day. The room was large, and its ground was covered with grass and tiny, curved hills. A small stream of water came out of a hatch through the bricked wall, over which a small wooden bridge allowed one to cross onto the path that lead to another door, one that was now locked, keeping me here. The room was continuously silent, but it wasn't overwhelming. It was rather… calming. I needed this, I know.

After the third day in this place, I lost track of time. I sat on the edge of a pond, next to a large, glowing tree whose roots leaked into the water, and I didn't move. At first, I was close to unresponsive. I couldn't feel anything, as if I was completely numb. I simply stared at the pond, whose unmoving waters were more of a giant mirror than any sort of liquid, and after a while, I didn't know what I was looking at. Was I looking at the water, or was I searching my reflected eyes for an answer? What was I searching for? An answer to what? To my loneliness, or my anger? Perhaps both? To this day, I still wonder what awoke in me that week. But I know, something did happen. And I would never forget.

Somewhere in this frozen time, the door opened when I was awake. Whenever I somehow dozed off, I always awoke to a plate of food next to me. I hadn't seen anyone in days, and suddenly hearing the noise of a door opening caught me by surprise. A small fairy floated in, quiet with their wings silently buzzing as they hovered through the door and closed it. My eyes were tired, and all I remember was watching this blur of a fairy as they came closer. I slowly blinked, and they were there. It was the princess. She was about my age, a kid, like me. But I knew her heart to be benevolent, to be pure. However, as she stood there, smiling at me, I looked down, away.

"Hi! How are you?"

I didn't answer. She hovered a bit closer to the ground and put the plate down next to me. I remember it smelling very good for my hungry stomach.

"I thought you'd be hungry. I didn't know if you were sleeping, it _is_ kinda late… Well, outside of here I mean."

She sat down next to me. There was something heavy in my heart, and the thought of speaking for the first time in days blocked my throat. For a long moment, we didn't say anything. The food smelled very good…

"Are you feeling better…?" she asked, quieter, softer.

I remember shaking my head without thinking about it. I knew I wasn't better. I was simply in a trance, and that alone did not quell my pain. Something else was needed for that, but at the time, I did not know what.

"I know you've been here for five days now… It's a lot. Do you… want to talk?"

Why was she here? Was she trying to help? Why was she nice to me? Was it to fulfill a higher purpose, or to simply… be nice? I didn't know, at the time, that it was the latter, and a little bit of something else. Slowly, I turned my head and looked at her, sideways. Princess Isabelle. The elder daughter of the Queen and King of Ripple Star, heir to the throne and future protector of the Crystal. I remember even back then, I thought she was very pretty. She kept her ebony hair semi-long, in two adorable ponytails held by red ribbons. Her face and her eyes were the prettiest; two almond-shaped eyes, two large pools of deep purple against a white, porcelain and round face. She was wearing a cute blue kimono, laced around the waist with a white ribbon. Her naked feet were slowly playing in the fresh grass under her. She smiled at me, and I grimaced back. My eyes were stinging me.

"If you don't want to, it's alright," Isabelle said, "but Dad always says not to keep my bad thoughts to myself. He says they're like little parasites that'll eat away at you… I figure you should do the same, right?"

"…I… I didn't mean to…"

It was the first time in days that I spoke, and my voice was raucous, broken. I tried clearing my throat, but it did little. She listened to me.

"I didn't mean to hurt him… They… hurt me first… It's a bad excuse, but… I-I'm so tired of this…"

I felt my heart leak again, but I did nothing to hold it back. I hiccuped once, and sobbed. She listened.

"I… It just… made me so mad… I'm not disgusting… I'm not a freak… am I?"

I sniffed. Feeling a bit more open, I reached out for the food and gladly ate, although it tasted salty because of my tears, but I was too hungry to care. She shook her head.

"I don't think you're a freak…"

I shook my own head, hardly believing it.

"Well, you'd be the only one around…"

"Not really. You'd be surprised at how many people supported you after this."

I looked at her, rubbing my tear-stained cheek. Had I heard wrong?

"S… Supported…? What… do you mean?"

"Well," she started, "there were a lot of people who saw what happened in the street. They say Skyen and his gang started it. They were pushing you, right?"

Regrettably, I nodded my head. She continued.

"You know," she said, "there's something my dad mentionned the other day about this. He said something about, huh… huh… I forgot the term, but it was about how people think something but don't say it, and instead it's the opposite opinion that gets louder? Something like that. So yeah, not everyone thinks your kind is freaky, or weird, or anything like that."

I remember those words. 'Not everyone thinks your kind is freaky.' Somehow, those words triggered something in my young heart. Something that had broken and was trying to mend back together. I started crying. Softly, at first, but… I broke down soon after. I cried my pain away, I sobbed my melting heart out, I became one with the feelings I had been holding back. And I wasn't alone. I remember feeling her scoot closer, feeling her arms wrap around me, I remember her warmth… It just made me cry harder, but we both knew, I'm sure of it, that I needed it.

It took me a while to stop… And I vaguely remember calming down to find myself leaning against her. I was a broken mess, but this pain had somehow made me happy. Isabelle was there to comfort me, and that was all I cared about.

"You know," she said after a while, "the festival isn't over. When you come out of here, you wanna go through the attractions with me? My sister could come too, she likes you."

Finding no voice in me, I only nodded. I swallowed.

"I'd like that…"

"I really want to be your friend, you know," she said sincerely. "You wanna be mine too?"

I turned to look at her. Through my blurry, tearful eyes, I smiled, as brightly as I could. This was the day I had made my first friend, one I still hold dear to my heart to this day.

I eventually came out of the Night Room, and other than being given a warning to not fight anyone again, I was freed. I had never been happier to see my parents. Their love was one of the few things I truly held on to as I grew, and feeling it again after a week without did me wonders. The next day, Isabelle came to my house, with her little sister. They wanted to play. After all, this was a festival to celebrate love and unity, wasn't it? With their help, I eventually did make other friends, and though I kept them few in numbers, it was more than enough for me. Never again did I feel alone as a child, not with Isabelle by my side. We became what we liked to call the best of friends, and we grew together… until I left, centuries later.

"Sir Arthur," I hear behind me.

I turn my head to look and I see one my crew member, a sergeant. He looks at me with a strange look about his eyes. Oddly enough, I realize he's a fairy, and I chuckle at the irony.

"Everythin' alright, Sir?"

I smirk and nod.

"Yes, I'm alright. I was just… thinking."

I sit up on my chair, clearing my throat.

"Tell me, Sergeant, are you familiar with the Winter Festival of Ripple Star's capital?"

"Eh," he sighs, "'course I remember that. Was just a toddler when I had to leave, but I remember, yeah. Was one of the most anticipated festivals of the year. Why, Sir?"

"I believe we are around the festival's time, by the Ripple calendar."

I smile and stand up. I walk around my chair and gesture to him to follow me.

"Come, my friend," I say. "Let's share a drink, mmh?"


End file.
